A fluid management system (FMS) may be used in connection with a wide variety of medical procedures involving one or more fluid delivery functions including, but not limited to: fluid irrigation; distention of a body cavity; fluid warming; fluid deficit monitoring associated with delivery and return of fluid to/from a surgical site; and suction. The medical procedures may be associated with multiple surgical disciplines including, but not limited to: gynecologic, urologic, orthopedic, colorectal, and general surgical procedures.
During certain medical procedures, patient safety may require that the amount of fluid delivered to the surgical site and the amount of fluid returned from the surgical site be continuously monitored to determine the “fluid deficit.” Accordingly, a FMS may be configured to provide a fluid deficit monitoring function to accurately measure fluid inflow (to the surgical site) and outflow (from the surgical site), and to calculate a fluid deficit in order to monitor a patient's fluid absorption level during a medical procedure as excess fluid absorption can result in serious complications. Typically, fluid returning from the surgical site is collected in one or more fluid collection containers (e.g., canisters). The volume of fluid collected from the surgical site is typically determined by measuring weight. A fluid deficit is then calculated by comparing the volume of fluid delivered to the surgical site with the volume of fluid returned from the surgical site.
Canisters are frequently used as fluid collection containers. When a canister fills with fluid to a maximum capacity during a medical procedure, it becomes necessary to remove the full canister and replace it with a new, empty canister. There are several drawbacks to removing and replacing canisters during a medical procedure. In this regard, such activity can (i) disrupt the medical procedure by necessitating the suspension of suction used to remove fluid from the surgical site, and thereby cause a suspension of fluid deficit monitoring; (ii) cause inconvenience to medical personnel, especially in surgical procedures involving high fluid volumes, as medical personnel have to physically remove full canisters and replace them with new, empty canisters; (iii) potentially introduce errors into fluid deficit monitoring calculations due to disruption of the fluid management system during the canister replacement process (e.g., bumping or moving), which can adversely affect the ability of the fluid management system to accurately weigh the remaining and new canisters; (iv) potentially introduce errors into fluid deficit monitoring calculations due to leaks and spills caused by detaching tubing used to return fluid from the surgical site from full canisters and reattaching such lines to the new, empty canisters, and (v) increase the cost of a surgical procedure by requiring that a number of canisters be used during a surgical procedure which is commensurate with the amount of fluid used.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a fluid management system that incorporates a “pass-through” fluid volume measurement system that continuously measures the volume of fluid returning from a surgical site during transit to a waste collection system (e.g., a dedicated fluid collection system or a hospital's waste disposal system) and eliminates the need to replace full canisters with new, empty canisters during a medical procedure.